I have a question about Melasma, I've included my history in the post. I noticed what looks like to be a bit a melasma on my cheeks today. I'm female, 25 years old, never been pregnant, and not on hormonal birth control.

I do live in TX, and go outdoors everyday. I always wear sunscreen.

My routine is very simple right now. Morning: Wash face with Aveeno Moisturizing Bar Face Soap, Olay Complete Moisturizer w/ spf 30, then makeup Evening: Wash face with Aveeno or Clean & Clear, stridex

My typical skin problems are blackheads, SF's, oily skin. I have one sun spot already, probably from my years on the swim team. In the past I've used retin-a, vit c serum, glycolic acid. Lately I've been just doing stridex @ night & morning moisturizer with spf.

The last couple of days I've used stridex twice at night (which I usually don't do) I figured it was ok because I'm using literally no other actives. This morning I noticed stinging when I applied my moisurizer, a tell-tell sign of over-exfoliation and my skin's barrier breaking down, likely due to my stridex use. Can over-exfoliation increase my likelihood of developing melasma?

tl;dr I've noticed melasma at the same time my skin's barrier seems to be weak from using too much stridex. I have no other factors associated with melasma (being pregnant, hormonal birth control) Is there a connection between over-exfoliation or damaged skin barrier and melasma?